I've Always been Here
by Of Memories Past
Summary: Just a short, sweet story about Kagome's birth...with a surprising twist. Please read and review!


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha. I don't own anything to do with it either. Sadness…

I've Always been Here

By: _Of Memories Past_

_`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`~*`~`_

     The heart monitor showed that the soon-to-be mother's condition was not improving. As a matter of fact, things were starting to get worse. The young nurse's eyes grew wide as the baby's heart rate took a dangerous dive, and her own heart clenched as the woman in labor stifled a scream as her own body reacted violently. Giving the mother's hand a gentle squeeze, she grabbed the statistics and left the room, taking off in a dead run as soon as she entered the hallway. He red hair flew behind her furiously as she ran down the hospital corridor as fast as she could. In this case, time meant everything.

     "Get Dr. Ishinomori!" she ordered, bursting into the nurse's station. Her breaths came heavily, but the determined and grim look on her face told the other nurses that she meant business. One of them was already getting the doctor on the line. 

     "What is it, Mieko?" one of the younger nurses asked. "What's wrong?"

     Mieko took a deep breath and carefully retied her long, red hair. "Mrs. Higurashi's baby isn't doing so well. The heart rate was already low, and it just took another risky plunge. But Mrs. Higurashi's fell with the child's. If we don't get that baby out now, they'll both die!" She paused and glanced at the nurse on the phone with the doctor. "Are you filling him in, Akane?" 

     Akane nodded briefly and hung up a second later. "He's on his way now."

     The young nurse finished her sentence just in time to see Dr. Ishinomori tearing down the hall, his long, black hair flying wildly behind him as he hastily pulled on his scrubs. He stopped in the nurse's office only a moment to grab Mieko by the hand before running off again, nearly dragging the poor nurse the whole way. Mieko could only hang onto his hand for dear life.

     Dr. Ishinomori had quite a reputation at their hospital and throughout others spread around Tokyo. Young as he was, the doctor had a wonderful, true gift. He had saved countless lives of mothers and babies in the three short years of his practice. The young, handsome doctor was always the first called upon in an emergency. And this situation was a definite emergency.

     When he and Mieko finally reached Mrs. Higurashi's room along with a medical team ready to do a cesarean at a moments notice, they found the young mother struggling to breathe and bear the pain racking her body.

     Under the young doctor's orders, the woman was immediately put under anesthetic and wheeled on her gurney to the emergency room. He followed behind rapidly quickly committing each of the vital statistics to memory. He frowned. Things did not look well at all.

     Mrs. Higurashi was unconscious by the time they reached the ER, and in less than two minutes, the medical team was prepared to operate. 

     Dr. Ishinomori looked at the unconscious woman in front of him and then at her worrying husband. He sat loyally by his wife's side, clutching at her hand. The man was determined not to lose his wife and first child. The doctor took a deep breath and then asked Mieko for the scalpel. He was not about to lose them either.

     "How long?" Mieko asked, handing him the instrument.

     His concentration fully focused on task at hand, Dr. Ishinomori made the initial incision before answering the nurse. "Sixty seconds."

     Mieko raised and eyebrow. "That quickly?" She watched as his deft hands carefully and quickly began on the skillful surgery.

     "Sixty seconds, or the baby will die."

     Swallowing, Mieko continued to help with the surgery's ministrations, praying the whole time that the mother and child would be all right. Oh, she hoped that they would be okay.

     Ten seconds later, a screaming baby girl entered the world. No one would have known that she had been so close to death with the way she hollered. The downy patch of black hair atop her head stuck up in all directions as her little, pink face scrunched up and let out another ear shattering howl.

     After checking the child's vital signs and determining that she would be all right, Dr. Ishinomori carefully brought the baby over to meet her father. Tears of joy streamed down the new father's face as he reached out to hold his daughter while the doctor went back to check on his unconscious wife. It would be a while before she came out of the anesthesia. He turned his attention back to the screaming babe. His first child. And she was perfect.

     A moment later the doctor came back to him, confidant that the mother was okay. "Let us clean her up for you."

     Mr. Higurashi held the baby out to the doctor, noting the tender look in the young man's eyes as he took his daughter in his arms.

     Mieko came up to the doctor to take the child and do her job, but Dr. Ishinomori declined. "I'll do it."

     The red-haired nurse looked confused but nodded and moved out of the way so that the doctor could pass.

     Tears immediately began to stream down his cheeks as soon as his face was turned away from the others in the room. It had been so long. Such a long journey, and here she was again. But he had almost lost her again. Tuning out the recent frightening memory, the doctor began cleaning her up.

     The child howled loudly, not liking at all the bright lights and cold air. She wanted to go back to the warm place she was before, and she wanted to go back now.

     "Sssshh," Dr. Ishinomori soothed, wrapping her in a blanket and holding her closely. 

     The baby stopped wailing and curiously looked up at the individual holding her. Her deep, brown eyes tried in vain to focus her vision on him, making her look adorable as she went partially cross-eyed for a moment.

     He chuckled. "So much ahead for you," he murmured. 

     Suddenly, the baby girl broke out in a wide, toothless grin and held her small, chubby hands out to him.

     Dr. Ishinomori choked back more tears and regained his composure before bringing her back to her father. He looked fondly down at her one last time before giving her up to her father's loving arms.

     Mr. Higurashi thanked the doctor and looked questioningly at the young man. "You really love children, don't you?" The new father's confusion only doubled as the doctor nodded and painfully looked down at his daughter.

     "Are you ok?" he asked, laying a hand on the doctor's shoulder.

     Doctor Ishinomori slid his glance up to the Mr. Higurashi and locked eyes with the man.

     Looking into the violet eyes of the young man in front of him, Mr. Higurashi carefully contemplated the doctor with the unwavering gaze. There was something different about him. And just as that thought crossed his mind, the sudden image of a young man with flowing silver hair, amber eyes, and white ears atop his head invaded his mind's eyes. He shook his head before focusing more suspiciously on the man in front of him. The doctor's eyes never moved as if trying to tell him something. A quick flash caused Mr. Higurashi to gasp. He could have sworn that they eyes of the man who had just delivered his daughter flashed amber.

     He then remembered the once annoying ramblings of his father-in-law. He looked down at his daughter incredulously before glancing back up at the doctor, a new understanding etched in his own gray eyes.

     The doctor allowed his gaze to drop back to the child just a moment more before bowing respectfully to the man in front of him and turning to leave.

     "What will you name her?" he asked, stopping in the doorway. His eyes were cast to the ground.

     Mr. Higurashi smiled as he looked at his child. "Actually, we hadn't decided yet. Any suggestions?"

     Dr. Ishinomori looked up for only a moment more. "Kagome." With that he left.

     "Kagome," Mr. Higurashi repeated. "It's a pretty name." He looked down at his daughter and grinned. "What do you think? Does Kagome sound like it will fit you?"

     The baby girl erupted with laughter and reached up to her father.

     Laughing, he leaned down and kissed her little nose. "Then Kagome it is. Higurashi Kagome. I like it."

     Kagome chose that moment to yawn and snuggle down into her blanket to sleep. It had been a long day for her.

     Unknowingly, a certain young man watched carefully from around the corner. He ran a hand through his long black hair and sighed as he tried to suppress more tears. _"Fifteen years,"_ he thought. _"Almost there."_ He turned one final glance to the new family and smiled before walking off.

     It was time to disappear again…but he would be back in fifteen years.

A/N: Just had to write that. I'm thinking of using it as a part of one of my chapters in one of them stories I'm currently writing. Please review and tell me what about it you liked or disliked. And as always, I hope that you enjoyed! God Bless! ~_Of Memories Past_


End file.
